Kurt Klein
| Kurt Klein | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 July 1920 Walldorf |
| Died | 2002 |
| Nativity | Germany |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| ASN | 32554510 |
| Rank | Second Lieutenant |
| Rank at Ritchie | Private |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 5 (8 February – 9 April 1943) |
| Section | 9 |
| Enlisted | Buffalo, New York |
| Specialty | Military intelligence |
| Unit / division | 5th Infantry Division |
| Team | IPW 3 |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
Kurt Klein (died 2002) was a German-born refugee from Walldorf and a military intelligence soldier with the 5th Infantry Division. After returning to Germany in American uniform, he met and later married Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissmann.
Biography edit
Kurt Klein grew up in Walldorf, Germany, in a Jewish family threatened by the Nazi regime. In 1937 he left for the United States alone. Like many young refugees, he had to establish himself in a new country while trying to help family members still trapped in Europe.
Klein entered the U.S. Army and was selected for military intelligence training at Camp Ritchie. His native German, knowledge of German customs, and experience as a refugee were transformed into military skills. He was assigned to the intelligence section of the 5th Infantry Division for its campaign into Germany.
With the division, Klein questioned Germans and interpreted the people, documents, and circumstances encountered by the advancing American forces. His wartime journey carried him back into the country he had escaped, now as a member of the U.S. Army helping defeat the regime that had persecuted his family.
Near the end of the war Klein met Gerda Weissmann, a Jewish survivor of Nazi camps and a death march, shortly after her liberation. Their meeting became the beginning of a lasting partnership, and they married after the war. Together they devoted substantial effort to Holocaust education and to telling the story of persecution, survival, liberation, and renewal.
Gerda's wartime experience and liberation were later presented in the Academy Award-winning documentary One Survivor Remembers, in which Klein's role in her liberation story was preserved for a wide audience. Kurt Klein died in April 2002 while on a lecture tour in Guatemala.
Kurt was born on July 2, 1920 in Walldorf, Germany where his father worked as a grain broker. He worked as linotype machine operator. Klein finally in November 1942, the State Department wrote to Kurt informing him that his parents had received clearance to leave. Klein of which was Gerda Weissmann who he married in 1946.
Research notes edit
- To 2nd Lt About Face
Gallery edit
-
Kurt Klein on a mountaintop near Oberammergau, Bavaria, in 1933 Kurt Klein -
Technical record edit
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Approx Age at Death | 82 |
| Nara ASN | 32554510 |
| Nara Name | KLEIN KURT |
| Nara State | 23 |
| Nara County | 29 |
| Nara POE | 2309 |
| Nara DOE | 281042 |
| Nara Grade Alpha | PVT |
| Nara Grade Code | 8 |
| Nara Branch Alpha | BI |
| Nara Branch Code | 0 |
| Branch | Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA |
| Nara Term or Enlistment | 5 |
| Term of enlistment | Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law |
| Defer. Date | 0 |
| Nara Source | 0 |
| Nara Nativity | N1 |
| Nara Year of Birth | 20 |
| Nara Race | J |
| Nara Race Description | White not yet a citizen |
| Nara Education | 4 |
| Nara Civilian Occupation | 444 |
| Nara Marital Status | 6 |
| Nara Height (inches) | 66 |
| Nara Weight (lbs) | 128 |
| Class_ASN | 32554510 |
| Class_Name | KLEIN, Kurt |
| match_method | asn_exact_name_exact |
| row_source | both |
Timeline edit
- Born 6 July 1920.
- 8 February 1943 — Entered Class 5 at Camp Ritchie (IPW Ge).
- 9 April 1943 — Graduated Class 5 (German Document Examiner).
- 6 August 1943 — Promoted to M/Sgt.
- 9 July 1944 — Landed at Utah Beach with 5th Infantry Division.
- October 1943 — Became member of IPW Team 3 assigned to the 2nd Infantry.
- They married in Paris on September 1945.
- of which was Gerda Weissmann who he married in 1946.
- Became naturalized U.
- Regiment of the 5th Infantry Division.
Sources edit
- Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
- Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
- NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
- 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
- The Stories essay
- Dan Gross, Timeline of Kurt Klein for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
- Dan Gross, Timeline of Klein, Kurt for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: KURT KLEIN.doc)